What it means to me

Upon entering the UPOU Oblation Hall, I was amazed by a big octagonal
wooden structure with a big crawling plant clinging to a huge driftwood
at the center of the structure. Small plants are already creeping on
the side of the eight posts. On aquarium tanks, some species of fish
and algae are being cultured.

On one side of the hall, six
recycled computers are running on Ubuntu and are already prepared for
the multi-player online game being developed using open-source
software. These computers will eventually be integrated into the
structure.

Another
team is preparing digital sensors which would capture humidity, heat,
distance and images inside the structure which would eventually be
presented on the web using the Processing programming language.

Wood
carvings from Paete, Laguna would eventually be integrated into the
structure to serve as a showcase of the artwork of the Philippines.

What
am I doing in Los Banos where the structure is currently housed? What
is the significance of the structure I am trying to describe?

I
am part of a group of students enrolled in the Special Projects course
as part of the curriculum of the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies
of the University of the Philippines Open University under our
Faculty-In-Charge Diego Maranan.
We are required to be a part of the Biomodd project. To fully grasp the
significance of the project, we have to “feel”, ‘touch” and “be united”
with the concepts, as well as the actual structure.

The Biomodd project intends to showcase the symbiosis between the different elements of nature, technology and art.